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Friday, April 2, 2010
US has excellent military ties with India: Pentagon
Wednesday, Mar 31, 2010 at 0906 hrs Washington : The United States has an excellent military to military relationship with India, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. "We have very strong military-to-military relations with the Indian government, with the Indian military; have had them for some time," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said at a news briefing. Morrell said Defence Secretary Robert Gates recently visited India when he reaffirmed the Obama Administration's commitment to have strong working relationship with the Indian military. "The Secretary just visited India recently and reaffirmed our strong working relationship with Indian military, exploring new ways in which we can partner and exercise and do disaster-relief work, and sell weapons and other military hardware to the Indians," Morrell said. At a Congressional hearing recently, Admiral Robert F Willard, Commander US Pacific Command had argued that the US must continue to strengthen its relationship with India. ............................Indianexpress
Permanent Commission to Women in Combat Units Not Simple: Indian Army Chief General V K Singh
Permanent commission to women in combat units of the armed forces is not so simple as a click of a button but a gradual process and the issue has to be studied in detail, newly appointed Army Chief General V K Singh said on Thursday. "It is not that simple. It is not so simple that at a click of a button we can provide permanent commission to women. We need to sit down and deliberate on this," Singh told mediapersons in New Delhi on the first day in office.
In fact, Singh said, India needed to study how women officers have been utilised by foreign armies in their combat units and how they fared. "As far as women officers in the Indian Army are concerned, whatever we have given them to do, they have fared pretty well. They have measured up to whatever work was given to them. I am sure that is why opportunities are opening up. It is a very gradual process," he said. "We are not a country where women have been in soldiering for a very long time. This has to evolve slowly. It cannot be done in one press of a switch," he added.
The Army Chief wanted the overall effect of permanent commission to both men and women officers to be studied further. However, he said the two issues should not be linked to each other, though the army had started recruiting women to bridge the 11,000-odd shortfall in the strength of the officer cadre. "The A V Singh Committee's premise has been that there should be smaller permanent commission and large short service commission officers. We are factoring all aspects before taking action," he said. The Army had last year offered permanent commission to women in branches such as Judge Advocate General, Education Corps and such other non-combat services of the Army, but for future short service commission officers.
Recently, the Delhi high court, after hearing the plea of serving women officers, ordered the armed forces to provide permanent commission to them too. At present, the Indian armed forces have a cumulative strength of about 2,000 women officers and there has been a growing demand for providing them permanent commission in the combat streams such as infantry, artillery, and engineers in the Army, fighter pilot stream in the Air Force and postings on warships in the Navy. Some countries such as the United States and Israel have women personnel in war-fighting roles and they engage in combat with the enemy shoulder-to-shoulder with their men counterparts............................Rediff
France says arms sale to Pakistan held up
PARIS: France's plan to sell 1.2 billion euro ($1.6 billion) worth of military equipment for Pakistan's JF-17 combat aircraft has been held up, a source at President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said on Friday.Newspaper Le Monde had reported earlier that France decided to suspend the sale of electronics and missiles -- the first section of a 6 billion euro contract -- under pressure from India and uncertainty over Pakistan's finances......................Reuters
Egypt Uncovers 100 Anti-aircraft Missiles, 45 Missile Launchers in Sinai
Egyptian security forces uncovered a massive arms cache in central Sinai Peninsula before dawn yesterday, the Egyptian daily Al-Yum a-Saba reported. No details were given about whether the arms were intended for smuggling into the Gaza Strip or where they were from. However, the Egyptian forces suspect the smugglers to be Sinai Bedouin who found and collected weapons following battles and hoped to sneak them into the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian news agency Maan cited Egyptian security sources saying officers discovered a large arms warehouse containing some 100 anti-aircraft missiles, 45 missile launchers, 40 bombs, an RPG missile and other explosive devices...................... Haaretz
Pakistan Air Force's IL-78 Air-to-Air Refueling Aircraft
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The Ilyushin IL-78 Midas R09-001 Air-to-Air Refueler aircraft of Pakistan Air Force has taken part in High Mark 2010.Delivery of remaining three Refueler aircraft is planned to complete by 2010.Pakistan airforce has purchased a total of 4 Il-78P Midas tanker aircraft have from the Ukraine. These aircrafts are equipped with Soviet-designed UPAZs pods and refueling kits on Mirage-III Rose-I is of South African origin. In first stage PAF has announced that 30 Mirage-III Rose-I will be upgraded with in-flight refuelling probes and this too is being done at PAC kamra.The Il-78s will give the PAF its first airborne refueling capability. They will help train Pakistani crews in mid-air refueling techniques, and once operational will be used to refuel the Mirage-III, eventually JF-17 Thunder and Fc-20.
Pakistan Air Force Uses Motorway as Runway during High Mark 2010
Pakistan Air Force's Mirage and F-7 fighter jets used motorway as runway for emergency landing. During the High Mark 2010 military exercises, Wing Commander Atta-ur-Rehman was flying Mirage where as Squadron leader Nadeem Iqbal was flying F-7P when 9,000 ft long and 103 ft wide piece of Islamabad-Lahore motorway was used as runway.In the 3-hour long exercises, the Pakistan Air Force fighters practiced picking up fuel and arms. After landing, the aircraft were refuelled, rearmed and re-launched. Touch and go has been practiced on motorway during 2 earlier exercises whereas in High Mark 2010 exercises motorway has been used as airbase in emergency settings. High Mark-2010, launched March 15, is the PAF’s biggest war game in five years and covers the the entire country.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Iran Starts Mass-Production of Nasr 1 Cruise Missiles
The minister stressed that once the Army's Navy and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) naval forces come in possession of these mass-produced cruise missiles, the Islamic Republic of Iran's naval defense capability would experience an outstanding jump forward.In December 2008, The Iranian naval forces successfully test-fired the surface-to-surface Nasr 1 in the final stage of Unity 87 wargames in the Persian Gulf waters.The surface-to-surface Nasr-1 missile was fired from a warship and hit its target at a distance of 30 km (19 miles) and destroyed it. It was the first test of the new missile.The Unity 87 wargames started on December 2, 2008 for a six-day military exercise with over 60 warships as well as fighter jets, unmanned aerial vehicles, torpedoes, light and heavy submarines and gunboats.
- Fars News Agency -
India to Orders Israeli UAVs Armed with Missiles
Sources close to the Indian defense ministry in New Delhi disclosed Wednesday, March 31, that a military purchasing mission was in Israel recently to expedite the purchase of a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) armed with missiles, for deployment on its front lines against Pakistan.Indian sources did not disclose the size of the order placed with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) - running to hundreds of millions of dollars - but they made no secret of their intention to build up their fleet of reconnaissance and killer drones for a possible duel against US-armed Predators in the hands of Pakistani forces. New Delhi made its order urgent after learning that Washington may deliver drones to Islamabad much sooner than Indian intelligence had foreseen. The visiting Indian delegation also discussed the possible introduction of Israeli Harop `killer' UAVs to the Indian Air Force from 2011. India is going half-and-half with Israel in the costs of developing and production of the innovative helicopter..........................source
HAL Sunabeda unit gets new facility for Sukhoi-30
The engine division of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at Sunabeda in Orissa's Koraput district has got a separate overhauling department for Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft.The facility was inaugurated by Union Minister of state for defence, M M Pallam Raju on Saturday.The people of the state must be feeling proud for having a division of HAL at Sunabeda, Raju said. He also visited the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation at Jeypore in the same district.The engine division of HAL has a long term plan to undertake manufacture of AL-31FP engines for Sukhoi-30 KLI aircraft under license, sources said. The division has a unique distinction of manufacturing almost all types of components required for the manufacture and overhaul of engines and spares for service exploitation................................business-standard
Indian Air Force Set for Paradigm Shift with C-130J Super Hercules Airlifter
In just about a year the Indian Air Force (IAF) will begin receiving the first of six C-130J Super Hercules airlifters it has purchased for $1 billion, the aircraft signaling a paradigm shift in the manner in which the armed forces train for specialised operations.For the first time, the IAF will be able to conduct precision low-level flying operations, airdrops and landings in blackout conditions as the aircraft will be equipped with an infrared detection set (IDS).That is when the IAF will gets first look at the aircraft. After flight tests and other trials, the aircraft will be handed over in the first quarter of 2011,' Jack Crisler, director of the C-130J programme, told a group of visiting Indian journalists, adding that the sixth aircraft was scheduled for delivery by the end of 2011.The C-130J primarily performs the tactical portion of an airlift mission. The aircraft is capable of operating from rough, dirt strips and is the prime transport for air dropping troops and equipment into hostile areas.Meanwhile, the first of the 18 IAF crews that will be trained on the C-130J will arrive here in October. 'We are planning to train 18 crews in three years,' Crisler said.'So advanced is the simulator that a pilot can literally walk from it to the aircraft,' Crisler pointed out. ..........................Source
Indian Air Force's MiG-27 fighter aircraft Fleet Still not Flying: Air Chief Marshal P V Naik
Over a month after they were grounded, a major chunk of Indian Air Force's MiG-27 fighter aircraft fleet was still not flying as only the trainer version of the aircraft have been cleared for operations, Air Chief Marshal P V Naik said here."As far as MiG-27s are concerned, the trainer version is still flying as it has a different engine. As far as other engines are concerned, we are going into more details as whether any more checks are required or it is ready to fly," he told reporters here.The IAF had grounded its entire MiG-27 aircraft fleet for checks following a crash near Hashimara in February, 2010 in which an ace fighter pilot was killed.
It had also ordered examination of the aircraft following preliminary report of the Court of Inquiry suggesting that the mishap could have taken place due to failure of "low pressure turbine blades", a problem tackled only at the overhaul or fourth line servicing stage.The IAF flies around 160 MiG-27 swing-wing aircraft, used for both air-to-air and ground attacks in eight of the existing 33.5 squadrons.Asked if there was a need to increase the patrolling in the Gulf of Aden in view of increased incidents of piracy there, the Air Force Chief said, "We should protect our assets. At what scale, that we have to sit and decide.”
PTI
Lockheed Asks Indian Air Force to Pay for After-Sales Service
As Indian Air Force gets ready to induct the first of its C-130J transport aircraft early next year, the US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin has assured India of full serviceability at all times - but at a price.The offer from the American company may prove to be a boon to IAF which has been having massive serviceability problems with its Russian supplied short and medium haul transport aircraft which are forced to be grounded due to shortage of spares.With IAF now poised to change its transport inventory from Russia to apparently US, the Lockheed Martin is offering 80 per cent serviceability for its C-130J transport aircraft enabling it to be operational at all times.The military aircraft manufacturer has assured the IAF that it will ensure their six C-130J transport fleet is fit and ready for operations when the IAF requires it badly.In the case of C-130Js though, Lockheed Martin has given a commitment in their 2007 contract with India to provide a three-year after-sales support. But since the aircraft would be with India for at least 40 to 50 years, the US company was looking at a long-term arrangement for sustaining the aircraft for its entire life time."After the first three years of product and service support, we want to partner India on a long-term basis to sustain the C-130Js for its entire lifetime. If not the entire lifespan, at least for the next 20 years," Paranjape said.......................................indianexpress
Project-15 Class Missile destroyer INS Chennai launched
India Will Expand Government Shipyard
India's state-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata, is to double its capacity in the next 12 months at a cost of $87 million. The funds for the expansion have been sanctioned by the Indian Finance Ministry.The expansion will mainly focus on increasing the capacity of the Raja Bagan Dockyard acquired by GRSE in 2006 from the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation.GRSE built the Indian Navy's Godavari-class frigates; missile corvette, which is equipped with surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft guns; and a variety of patrol boats.............................Source
Indian Navy Delays Induction of New Stealth Frigate
The Indian Navy has once again deferred the induction of a new class of indigenously built stealth frigates, the latest in a series of delays stretching over five years.Once commissioned, the hard-to-detect warships will form a crucial component in India’s bid to build a blue-water navy capable of operating across oceans, defence analysts said. But the delays in induction reflect the need for “stronger political will” to carry the process through, analysts said.INS Shivalik, the first of 12 Shivalik-class vessels, will be commissioned “by the second week of April,” said Parvez Panthaky, spokesperson of Mazagon Dock Ltd, which is building the ship in Mumbai. “The commissioning date is being finalized with the navy.”
Two more Shivalik-class frigates, INS Satpura and INS Sahyadri, “will be commissioned within a few months of each other,” he said.In January, when a model of the 4,800-tonne INS Shivalik was showcased in the Republic Day Parade, the navy had announced that the ship would be commissioned in March. The project, envisaged way back in 1997, was initially scheduled for commissioning in 2005.Stealth frigates have advanced features designed to reduce a warship’s signature.“INS Shivalik has stealth features against radar and heat seekers,” a senior naval officer told Mint on condition of anonymity. “Its underwater signatures are also reduced through technical means.”
The navy already has three Talwar-class stealth frigates, bought from Russia. But the Shivalik-class vessels are being built entirely in India.Shivalik-class vessels have both air and anti-submarine capability and are fitted with a mix of Indian, Russian, Israeli and Western weapons. This includes Club anti-ship missiles, Shtil surface-to-air missiles, Barak air and missile defence systems and RBU 6000 anti-submarine warfare rockets. They will carry two advanced helicopters each.Powered by gas and diesel turbines, the ships are capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots (55.5km) per hour. The cost of building each ship will be close to Rs2,500 crore, the officer said...........................................Source
Russia to Unveil New Main Battle Tank (MBT) in Summer 2010
Russia's new main battle tank (MBT), the T-95, could be exhibited for the first time at an arms show in the Urals Region this summer, the developer and future manufacturer of the tank has said.The development of the new tank dubbed "Item 195" began at the Uralvagonzavod design bureau in the early 1990s. Russia will become the first country in the world to have the 5th-generartion MBT if the military commissions the vehicle.
"The work on the project has been conducted for many years. If the government gives us a 'green light' we will exhibit the tank at the [Russian Expo Arms 2010] arms show in Nizhny Tagil this summer," general director of the Uralvagonzavod plant Oleg Siyenko told RIA Novosti in an exclusive interview."I cannot disclose the characteristics of the tank, but I can assure you that we have met all the requirements put forward by the military," he said.According to unofficial sources, the T-95 will feature better firepower, maneuverability, electronics and armor protection than Russia's latest T-90 MBT or comparable foreign models.
It will weigh about 55 tons and its speed will increase from 30-50 kph to 50-65 kph (19-31 mph to 31-40 mph).The new tank may be equipped with a 152-mm smoothbore gun capable of firing guided missiles with a range of 6,000-7,000 meters.In contrast to existing designs, the gun will be located in a remotely-controlled turret to improve 3-men crew survivability.Meanwhile, the T-90 MBT, developed in the 1990s on the basis of the T-72B tank, will be the backbone of the armored units until 2025, according to the Russian military.Russia currently produces up to 100 T-90 MBTs annually and plans to have at least 1,500 vehicles in service with the Ground Forces.
RIA Novosti
Turkish Navy to buy large landing ship for overseas missions
The Turkish Navy is preparing to buy its first landing-platform dock able to carry up to eight helicopters as it seeks to gain the capability for overseas amphibious force deployment as part of NATO and peacekeeping efforts.The prime contractor for the $500 million project will be a local company, but because of the high degree of technology transfer required, there will also be heavy foreign-industry involvement, procurement officials said.The Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry, or SSM, Turkey’s defense-procurement agency, opened a competition in late February among seven domestic companies that are expected to establish partnerships with foreign counterparts, including Italian, South Korean, Spanish, Dutch, French, British and German firms, according to procurement officials and business sources familiar with the program................................................hurriyetdailynews
U.S. ships respond to Korea sinking
Three U.S. warships and one Military Sealift Command salvage ship are on station off the Korean peninsula helping with search and rescue efforst after a South Korean patrol ship sank on Friday.The Japan-based cruiser Shiloh, destroyers Curtis Wilbur and Lassen and the salvage ship Salvor — carrying a team from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1 — were ordered to help with the search after the South Korean government asked the U.S. for help, a Pentagon official told Navy Times.Although Shiloh and Curtis Wilbur both carry the Aegis ballistic missile defense system, the official stressed that the American warships were there because South Korea asked for “support for search, recovery and salvage efforts.”..................................Full Story
Russia to float out 2nd stealth corvette
St. Petersburg's Severnaya Verf shipyard will float out on Wednesday a new corvette featuring stealth technology, a Russian Navy spokesman said.The Soobrazitelny is the second Project 20380 corvette designed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau."The corvette features innovative solutions regarding hull design, armament, communications and electronics," the spokesman said.The first Project 20380 corvette, the Steregushchy, was put into service with Russia's Baltic Fleet in October 2008, and two other ships of the same series, the Boyky and the Stoyky, are under construction............................................en.rian
Russian nuclear cruiser sails on mission in Indian Ocean
The Russian nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great) set sail from its base in Severomorsk on Tuesday on a tour-of-duty in the Indian Ocean, RIA Novosti reported from the board of the ship."The ship will conduct maneuvers in the Indian Ocean with ships from the Black Sea Fleet and will dock in ports on the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean," a representative of the Russian navy's Northern Fleet said.He said that the ship will pass through the Atlantic and the Mediterranean waters and enter the Indian Ocean via the Suez Canal.Russia announced in 2007 that it was building up its naval presence in the world's oceans. Once one the world's most powerful navies, Russia now has few ships regularly deployed.....................RIA Novosti
US test-fires Trident missile in drill with Saudis
The United States test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads during a joint military exercise Wednesday with Saudi Arabia, a Western military official said. The Trident missile launch was carried out in the kingdom, the official said, but he would not give a precise location. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. The U.S. has been strengthening missile defenses in allied Arab nations in the Gulf to help counter any potential missile strike from Iran. Like its nuclear work, Iran's missile program is of top concern to Washington and Arab nations wary of Tehran's growing influence in the region. .......................................Full Story
Russia To Test Project 855 Yasen Nuclear Submarine
Russia will begin tests of its new state-of-the-art multi-purpose nuclear submarine Yasen, Project 855, already in 2010. The unique submarine qualitatively differs from all of its predecessors. Moreover, Yasen will become the first submarine, which was entirely built in Russia during the post-Soviet period, Oleg Burtsev, a senior spokesman for the command of the Russian Navy said.The new submarine is to be launched in the beginning of May. JSC Sevmash, the company that builds all Russian submarines, is currently busy with making preparations to the landmark moment.
The submarine was named Severodvinsk. Engineers of the company said that it would be quieter and much more powerful than the USA’s Sea Wolf.Severodvinsk is a twin-hull nuclear submarine with decreased level of acoustic field. The submarine has ten compartments. The cruiser carries an extraordinarily strong complex of arms capable of solving combat tasks with practically any type of modern surface vessels and submarines. For the first time in the history of domestic ship-building, torpedo-launching systems are located behind the compartment of the central station. The new sonar complex Irtysh was installed in the fore end of the sub. Severodvinsk has eight vertical missile-launching systems: each of the systems houses three missiles.
Anti-vessel 3M55 Onix missiles will reportedly become the basic attack weapon of the new submarine. The missile was designed to strike targets at a distance of up to 300 kilometers under the condition of radio-electronic and combat resistance. The missiles are equipped with the system of artificial intelligence and can recognize all electronic images of surface vessels. They destroy the central target in a group, change their tactics and continue to destroy targets on the principle of their importance.
The new submarine will become the perfect weapon for military actions in the distant ocean zone. Official spokespeople for the Russian Navy said that the Severodvinsk would be passed into service in 2011.Russia also plans to launch the serial production and put into service eight strategic submarines of Project 955, Borei class. The submarines will make the basis of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces after 2018. The Yury Dolgoruky submarine is currently being tested in the White Sea. JSC Sevmash is currently building three nuclear submarines. Each of them will carry up to 20 intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The Russian Navy should have 50 nuclear submarines, Oleg Burtsev believes. Russia now has about 60 strategic, multi-purpose and diesel submarines. The navies of France, Britain and the USA have nine nuclear submarines on constant combat duty.“We should have two or three nuclear cruisers at sea as deterrent weapon. Other countries must know that Russia is always ready to respond to any attack,” Burtsev said.
